Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on Tuesday reported 94.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 29.3 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2020. The Essel Group-owned firm had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 529.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, ZEEL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Consolidated operating revenue of Subhash Chandra-led media company tumbled by 34.7 per cent to Rs 1,312 crore as against Rs 2,008.1 crore in the same quarter last year, impacted by sharp fall in advertising revenues due to COVID-19.

Revenue from advertising segment fell 64.5 per cent to Rs 421.06 crore during the June quarter, from Rs 1,186.71 crore in the corresponding period last year.

“Despite a sharp increase in viewership across mediums, monetisation was really weak in April-May leading to 66 per cent YoY decline in domestic advertising revenues,” ZEEL said in the regulatory filing.

Domestic subscription revenues grew by 6.2 per cent YoY on a higher base (47 per cent growth in base quarter), primarily led by ZEE5 subscription revenue, it said. The subscription revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 81.8 crore during the quarter.

During the April-June quarter, EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation) fell by 66.7 per cent to Rs 219.9 crore from Rs 659.8 crore in the same period last year.

The company said that no fresh episodes of existing shows were produced in the first two months, leading to a drop in programming cost. This reduction was partially offset by content shot at homes and purchase of licensed content for linear and digital businesses, it said.

The company said that Subhash Chandra has tendered his resignation, as the non-executive director of the company, which was reluctantly accepted by the board of directors. He will now act as the Chairman Emeritus of the company from August 19.

“As Chairman Emeritus, Chandra will continue as Company’s Senior Management,” it said.

Ahead of Q1 results, shares of ZEE Entertainment closed Tuesday’s trade at Rs 173.95, up 2.38 per cent, against the previous closing price of Rs 169.90 on the BSE.

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